Hurghada to Cairo

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Hurghada

We joined a convoy to reach Hurghada. The only purpose of this was to let those who had just joined the trip to see the Red Sea. Quite a disappointment as there is nothing to see from the beach in the way of coral or fish. Taba and Dahab are much better for coral and fish viewing. There was however a little piece of home in the way of Papa’s Bar - Burger and Chips - yummy.

Luxor

Back in Luxor but this time at the Pyramisa Isis hotel. Very nice with a good pool. We all piled onto the balcony in Janet and Henry’s room for a few drinks before dinner.

The Valley of the Kings was very interesting to visit. We entered three tombs, each built in a different style all hoping to fool robbers. Unfortunately most of these robbers were those who originally built the tombs. You could also tell if the Pharoah had died young as the decorations inside the tomb were painted as they had not had time to carve it.

Aswan

We boarded the train heading south to Aswan. The site of the Aswan Dam which is a massive feat of engineering. We visited Philae Temple which is accessible by boat. Not in it’s original position - it was moved so that it would not be lost forever under the Nile after the Dam was constructed. They also moved the mountain that the Temple Abu Simbel was carved into, to protect it from the risen Nile following the Dams completion.

The temple is very beautiful with magnificent pictures and carvings inside along with huge statues. Aswan also gave us the chance to catch up with Caz, one of the other Kumuka crews, who’s truck had broken down (again), so she was escorting her passengers by public transport.

The Nile


Whilst others chose to take a Felucca up the Nile, some of us chose a “5*” cruise (well you have to pamper yourself sometimes). Our cabin was very spacious with double patio style doors that opened onto a view of the Nile. We set sail around lunchtime and spent time having a few drinks on the top deck with Brendon, Janet and Henry. We even took a dip in the pool. We visited Kom Ombu temple at sunset which made for a very dramatic backdrop and atmosphere in the temple. We then returned to the boat just in time for tea. We sailed overnight and fell asleep watching the Nile go by from the comfort of our bed.

Edfu temple was our first stop the following morning. We took a horse and carriage to the gates early while it was still quiet. The carvings here were quite different from those back in Luxor. We continued sailing all the way to Luxor and disembarked the following day. We then spent the day shopping and relaxing at “Rezeiky Camp” in the pool before boarding the overnight train to Cairo.

Cairo

We arrived early in the morning and we were able to check into a shared room at a hotel to freshen up before visiting the Cairo Museum. It was quite astounding to see so many artifacts all in one place. By far the most impressive of all was the golden boxes that had been built one inside the other to house Tutankahmoun’s internal organs. Something far too beautiful and large to describe well enough to do them justice.

Afterwards, we booked into a separate hotel in the afternoon which was fantastic with pool and the best buffet breakfast since leaving home. A nice treat to end the trip with. At the farewell dinner we watched the DVD Brendon had made and said goodbye to some good friends. A few that were not leaving for a few days joined us the following evening at the hotel we were staying in, where although not as good as at home we finally got Aileen her ice-cream sundae.

Four countries down - off to number five - India.

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